Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler is Born (2005) - Star of the month... Olivia de Havilland

'Captain Blood: A Swashbuckler is Born' is a 2005 documentary retrospective featurette on the film 'Captain Blood' (1935).

The featurette features appearances from:

• film historian Rudy Behlmer
• Professor of Film Lincoln D. Hurst
• film historian Robert Osbourne
• author Bob Thomas
• sword master/choreographer Tim Weske
• conductor John Mauceri

The featurette begins with a social context to the film, with the introduction of the Hays Code, which lead to the rise of the swashbuckler. It then goes onto discuss some of the actors considered for the role of Captain Blood including Robert Donat, Clark Gable, Ronald Coleman, George Brent and Leslie Howard. 

Warner Bros. took a gamble by putting unknown Errol Flynn into the leading role, with fellow newcomer Olivia de Havilland. This follows with a brief snapshot of the supporting cast: Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill & Ross Alexander.

There is a segment of the direction by Michael Curtiz, and we are given a glimpse into the making of the set construction, the sword master and musical composition by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

The featurette concludes with a brief discussion on how Warner Bros. made a star of two actors using one film.